Most Expensive Wood for Furniture Making

Wood is one of the classic pieces used in creating furniture. You can never go wrong in choosing the most expensive wood for furniture making. Wood is a classic timepiece that will never go out of style. It lasts long and makes a durable material that will allow the furniture to last for years.

Wood has always been considered royal even in ancient times because it gives a rich feel to anything that it was added to. It is probably the most versatile material in the world as it can be used for a lot of things. However, are you aware how much your wooden furniture costs?

Expensive wood is usually used for making furniture but it is not limited to that purpose. We use wood to make other things for the house such as decoration pieces, doors, windows, pencils, furnitures and other things.

The oils from some of the expensive woods can be used as essential oils, as a scent for perfumes, and as an ingredient for cosmetic products. Like many others, I always prefer natural ingredients for my beauty products. Many of us use the oils for different purposes too. Several people use them to make musical instruments such as piano, violin, guitar, cello, and a whole lot more. Expensive wood can also be used to produce medicine and other curative products. They can also be used to make cricket balls and heavy balls.

So, here are some of the most expensive wood in the world used for furniture making.

Purple Heart Wood

Purple Heart Wood costs $9 to $11.99 per board foot. It is one of the most expensive wood in the world and can only be found in some areas in Central and South America such as Brazil, Costa Rica, Trinidad, Suriname, Guyana and Panama and mainly in the Amazon rainforest. This type of wood comes from the tree called Peltogyne that comes from a genus of 23 species, all of which are flower-bearing.

The size of Peltogyne trees are medium to large ranging from 30 to 50 meters in height and with trunks that have a diameter of 1.5 meters. Its fruit pod only contains a single seed and its flowers are white.

Purple Heart Wood is water resistant and is very hard. It is known for its constantly changing color from dark brown to purple. It is the most uniquely colored wood.

Sandalwood

Minimalist Sandalwood Base Living Room Indoor Desk Lamp

Sandalwood costs $20 to $30 per kilogram. It is the most commonly known and widely used type of wood in the world. The trees where sandalwood come from are mostly found in India, Sri Lanka,Hawaii, Nepal, Australia, Indonesia, Pakistan. It comes from the tree called genus Santalum which is medium in size.

Sandalwood produces natural oils that are used for several purposes including medicine and cosmetics. The wood is also used for other purposes such as religious practices for Hindus, Chinese, and Japanese.

Sandalwood has a yellow color. It has fine grains and is heavy. It is famous for its nice fragrance that lasts for decades.

African Blackwood

African Blackwood costs $10,000 to $20,000 per ton. It is scientifically known as Dalbergia melonoxylon. This plant belongs to the Fabaceae family. This plant bears white flowers that grow in clusters. It can be found in the dry regions in Africa like Senegal, Eritrea, and Transvaal, and also dry parts of South Africa.

African Blackwood has a height of about 4 to 15 meters and it has a grey bark and spiny shoots. It is now considered an endangered specie and there is a threat of over harvest because it has a low rate of germination and there is no proper plan to conserve it.

African Blackwood is a type of timber that is used for making musical instruments and furniture. This type of timber can be seen commonly because of its beautiful and rich look that doesn’t need to be painted.

Agarwood

Agarwood Chips

Agarwood costs $7,000 to $10,000 per kilogram and the market for it is estimated to be at $6-8 billion and growing. The finest quality could cost around $100,000 per kilogram. It is a dark resinous heartwood that grows from the Synopsis plant and in Aquilaria and Gyrinops trees when they get infected with mold. It can be found in dense forests.

The weight of Agar Wood’s timber before infection is very light and it also has a pale color and is odorless. Once it is infected with mold, that’s when the aroma comes out, and the wood becomes dense and dark. It comes with an aromatic resin that’s why it is also used as incense and perfume.

Ebony Wood

Ebony Wood costs $10,000 per kilogram. Ebony wood comes from the Diospyros tree. It is alternatively known as the Black Timber. This can be found in Africa, India, Sri Lanka and Indonesia.

Ebony Wood is a pure black hardwood that is very thick and dense and it can sink in water. The wood is color black and it has a fine texture. It is an ornamental wood that has a smooth finish when polished. The different species of ebony include Makkassar ebony found in Indonesia, Ceylon ebony found in South India and Sri Lanka and Gabon ebony found in West Africa.

Ebony is used to make the black pieces in a chess set, crucifixes, guitar, black piano, mandolin, double bass, violin, pegs, bow frogs, and other small items.

Pink Ivorywood

Pink Ivorywood costs $7 to $8 per board foot. It is a rare African wood that is also known as Red Ivorywood. The tree can be found in South Africa, Zimbabwe and Mozambique.

Pink Ivory is a hard kind of timber that is of top quality. It is used to manufacture products such as billiard cues and knife handles. It also has medicinal purposes.

Lignum Vitae Wood

Bastard Lignum Vitae Wood

Lignum Vitae Wood costs around $5 per pound. It is a trade wood and is from the Guaiacum Lignum genus which is cultivated in the Caribbean and in the north shoreline of South America. It is the national tree of Bahamas and its flower is Jamaica’s national flower.

Lignum Vitae is also called ‘wood of life’ where the name was derived from most likely because of its slow growth rate. It is also known by other names such as palo santo, bastard greenheart, and ironwood. It is a dense, strong and tough type of wood. The resin of lignum vitae has medicinal properties which can be used to cure coughs and arthritis.

Dalbergia Wood

Legacy Woodturning, Dalbergia Wooden Pen Blank

Dalbergia wood costs $14 to $16 per board foot. It is from the Albertina family that has different shrubs and with trees ranging from small to medium-sized. It grows in the warm regions of Central and Southern America, Madagascar, Southern Asia and Africa.

Dalbergia can be seen in different wooden planks that are used for different purposes. They are expensive because of their beautiful and fragrant wood. The Dalbergia wood is durable, tough, strong and maintains its shape. Dalbergia is used to make sports goods, good quality furniture, railway sleepers, plywood, etc. Its color varies from golden to deep brown.

The famous type of Dalbergia are rosewoods which are popular for their smell when cut.

Bubinga Wood

Bubinga wood costs $18.99 per board foot. It is one the most expensive wood furniture in the world. It is scientifically known as Guibourtia which belongs to the Fabacae Bubinga family and is a flowering plant. The plant can be found in South America, Bangkok and in tropical areas in Africa. It is also available in big forests just beside rivers or lakes which is suitable for their production.

The trees have a height of around 40 to 50 meters with a trunk that has a diameter of about 1 to 2 meters. The wood is used to produce musical instruments such as drums and bass guitars, luthiers, high quality furniture, rear handles, knobs, European knife handles and a whole lot more.

Bocote Wood

Bocote wood costs around $32.99 per board foot. It is the most expensive wood flooring in the world. It belongs to the Cordia genus that bears flowers and has around 300 species of trees and shrubs. It can be found in Central America and in warm regions around the world.

Bocote is one of the most used type of timber because of its elegant look and design. Its design is natural which makes it perfect for making stylish furniture. The wood is also used to make musical instruments such as guitars. The plants serve as food to certain species like wide beetles and caterpillars. The fruit is used as vegetable in India. The pulp of the fruit is used to make glue.

Mahogany

Mahogany costs $8 to $30 per board foot. Mahogany trees grow in tropical countries all over the world. They grow best in wet and dry tropical forests. Its nice color makes it great for furniture. The bark of mahogany has a sweet scent that adds to its value.

Mahogany is reddish brown in color that becomes darker over time. It displays a reddish sheen when polished. It is very durable which makes it favorable for making furniture and cabinets. It is also used for making boats, musical instruments and other similar items.

Snakewood

Snakewood costs $9 per board foot. It can be found in the coastal regions of South America. It is called as such because of the snakeskin patterns that it has.

Snakewood is very durable, extremely dense and is resistant to insect attack. It has a mild scent. It is among the hardest and densest wood. It is also one of the heaviest wood in the world. The wood is used to make furniture, closets, cabinets, veneer, tool handles, inlay, violin bows, and other specialty objects.

Elm Wood

Old Elm Wood Multi Pendant Light

Elm wood costs $10 per board foot. It is from the Ulmaceae plant family. The trees can be found in the Northern Hemisphere mostly in the tropical and temperate mountainous regions in Eurasia and North America. They can also be found in parts of Australasia.

Elm wood is resistant to decay when it is permanently wet. Elm wood is used for making furniture, coffins, Japanese taiko drums, chair seats, wagon wheel hubs and other things. The inner bark of elm is used in the US as a demulcent. Its branches are being fed to livestock. Elm was mainly used in making canoes and ropes but is now more popularly used for furniture and flooring because of its durability and pliability.

Maple

There are various species of the maple tree but the most expensive specie is the curled maple which costs $10 per board foot. It can be either soft or hard maple.

It is very durable and it has a nice color which makes it great for making furniture. It is a flexible type of wood which is widely used for making cupboards and doors. It is also used for making paper, veneer, musical instruments, butcher blocks, cutting boards, baseball bats, work benches, flooring and other specialty wood items. It usually has a light color with a golden or reddish hue at times.

Rosewood

Rosewood costs $8.50 per board foot. It is a decorative wood that comes from India. It is richly hued and is often brownish in color with dark veins. It has a rose color with dark purple streaks. Rosewood can be found in varying species in Madagascar, India, Bolivia and Southeast Asia.

Rosewood is flexible, durable, heavy and strong which makes it perfect for making high-end furniture pieces and for carving intricate designs. It is widely used in making cabinets and dressers. It can also be used to make musical instruments such as guitars, recorders, marimbas, fountain pens, billiard cues, chess pieces, flooring, handles and flooring. The oil from rosewood is used in perfume.

13 Comments

Ray Dan M Casuncad

It is really true that the cost of ebony wood is around $10,000 per kilogram? In the Philippines it is a rare wood that is difficult to find and prohibited to cut. The price of these wood cost around $10 per board feet. That is the minimum price.

The most beautiful furniture wood in the world is Tamboti. It is probably one of the most durable woods in the world. Tambotie carving found, 2 000 years old still looks like new. Grows very slowly in the dry sub tropical areas of Southern Africa. In South Africa it is a protected species requiring special permits to cut down, for e.g. infra structure projects such as highway construction. It is rare, hard and and extreme difficulty to work with, emit gasses that can make you very sick wen you work with it. Getting longish planks is very rare due to it’s twisting and woolly grain. One longish plank requires a few trees. Trees which is hard to come by, even if you do it illegally. Not too many craftsman has the heart, tools and skill to takes on this challenge to make big pieces of furniture. In the hands of a master nothing rivals the end project. Inlaying with gold will reduce the value of the furniture. Should anybody so require I will provide pictures of some of the most exquisite Tambotie furniture ever made or that will ever be made. Billy.adams@telkomsa.net

I’m wondering at the cost of an extension dining table…pull out leaves either end and turned legs. Plus 4 chairs all made in Snakewood. Can’t seem to find much on the worth of such a suite. Can anyone help?

But one thing is missing and that is “Cedar” wood which is expensive and the most beautiful wood.Mostly doors and windows are made of cedar.Also the furniture made of it is very classical and durable too.It is found in the north areas of Pakistan.

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